FROM THE QUETI CO SUPERI OR FOUNDATI ON SPRI NG 2 0 1 4

Wilderness
News
QUETI CO SUPERI OR COUNTRY
www.wildernessnews.org
I NSI DE:
Wilderness
Act 50th
Anniversary
Page 8
The Quetico Superior Foundation, established in 1946, encourages and supports the protection of
the wilderness, cultural and historical resources of the Quetico-Superior canoe country and region.
Board Member
Prole
Page 14
Wilderness
Canoe Base
Page 10
From Winter to Spring
in the Wilderness
Winter camping through long, dark nights
and cold bright days offers profound isolation
with an allure all its own.
Page 3
QUETI CO SUPERI OR COUNTRY
The Quetico Superior
Foundation, established in
1946, encourages and
supports the protection of
the wilderness, cultural and
historical resources of the
Quetico-Superior canoe
country and region.
Celebrating Wilderness
LETTER FROM THE BOARD PRESI DENT
Fifty years ago, the Wilderness Act ofcially created the National
Preservation System and wilderness areas. As you will read in
this issue of Wilderness News, it took 8 years of debate and over
60 drafts to pass it. A second act, the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness Act of 1978, would seek to address even further
debate over managing the Boundary Waters.
Without these Acts, its easy to imagine how the stories in this
issue of Wilderness News might have turned out differently. We
learn about the silence and solitude that winter camping offers.
We read one writers invitation to get outside during spring,
unpredictable weather and all. We also explore Wilderness Canoe
Base, a camp dedicated to helping kids explore wilderness.
This issue honors the ways that wilderness experiences inform
our personal development, and we thank all of our donors for
your continued support. You help us tell these stories, and cover
important issues like mining, which pose a signicant risk to
the regions wilderness character. We hope youll continue your
support throughout 2014.
I also want to take a moment to recognized longtime board
member Johnathan S. Bishop, who recently passed away. We are
grateful for his service to the Quetico Superior Foundation, and
our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Sincerely,
Jim Wyman
President, Quetico Superior Foundation
On the Cover:
Caribou Lake, photo courtesy Wyatt Behrends.
Tell us what you think and keep up with canoe country issues:
http://www.facebook.com/WildernessNews
Contact us at:
Quetico Superior Foundation
editor@queticosuperior.org
www.queticosuperior.org
Wilderness News
Published by the Quetico Superior
Foundation
James C. Wyman, President
Stewart F. Crosby, Vice President
Michael T. McCormick, Secretary
Walter E. Pratt, Assistant Secretary
Andrew G. Steiner, Treasurer
John P. Case
Dodd B. Cosgrove
Meghan Cosgrove
Stewart F. Crosby
Emilie Hitch
Charles A. Kelly
Michael T. McCormick
Walter E. Pratt
Jake Ritchie
R. Newell Searle
Eleanor W. Smith
Andrew G. Steiner
Dyke Van Etten Williams
Frederick Winston
James C. Wyman
Wilderness News is published, in part, with a
contribution from the Andrews-Hunt Fund of
The Minneapolis Foundation.
Design: Eaton & Associates Design Company
Printed on 100% recycled paper with soy-based inks
Directors
2 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org
By Bear Paulsen
Why would anyone go camping in the winter? From my experience insane is the most fre-
quent adjective applied to those of us who willingly camp in the winter. The general public
uniformly believes winter campers to be crazy masochists. Most people cannot fathom
what would possess someone to trade shelter and warmth for discomfort and snow. As the
non-winter camper further considers the irrationality of winter camping, they invariably
question how campers stay clean, and even more so how they go to the bathroom. Those
considerations usually end the conversation with a shudder and rmer conviction of the
winter campers mental instability.
The Wonder of
Winter Camping
Iron Lake, photo courtesy Bear Paulsen.
Travelling in the winter requires a great deal of plan-
ning and forethought, two qualities not often associ-
ated with the looney farm. Any winter camper who
fails to prepare will be uncomfortable at the least. And
its true winter camping does have a steep learning
curve. Beginning winter campers commonly return to
warmth and shelter earlier than planned. However, ex-
perienced campers can survive most any weather and
take great pleasure in their hardiness. They enjoy the
challenge of living and surviving in the cold. They rel-
ish their ability to thrive in conditions that are cause
for winter weather warnings and road closures. Win-
ter campers are a breed apart, a small fraternity that
willingly accepts new members because there are few
applicants.
Winter is the quietest and loneliest season. Its for-
tunate that only a few people want to winter camp. The
silence and palpable isolation would vanish if the wil-
derness were as well used as in the summer. Silence and
isolation are hard to nd in the summer partly due to
the presence of other campers. However, and more sig-
nicantly, silence really does not exist in the summer at
all; insects, animals and sounds of water create a lively
cacophony. Similarly the long days of summer minimize
feelings of isolation; isolation is felt most poignantly at
night. The long, dark winter night envelopes you with
wildernessnews.org WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 3
a profound isolation to which no summer experience
can compare.
Winter has a beauty all its own. The beauty stems
from absence. An absence of both sounds and sights.
In the winter there are few sounds competing for
your attention, often only the wind through the trees.
Many sounds of winter have a certain harshness to
them: the squeak caused by walking on the snow when
the temperature is well below zero; the rie shot of sap
exploding in a conifer; the cracking and groaning of
lake ice. Much of winters sparse music is otherworldly;
it is foreign. Standing on a lake while it gently thun-
ders and moans under your feet inspires fear. Sounds
that are commonplace in the summer provide magic
in the winter. The sound of a babbling brook is greeted
with amazement by new winter travellers because open
water is a rarity. They are surprised to hear open water
and captivated by the unique beauty of the scene. The
waters melody is unlike any other sound in the winter.
Open water provides a rare auditory and visual bouquet.
Silence magnies the beauty of winter. Silence
serves to exacerbate the monochromatic, uniformly
white winter world. Pictures of the winter wilderness
invariably capture a white desert. After a day lled with
endless white vistas a sunset dees words. A winter
sunset lacks the garishness of a summer one. It allows
no bright or gaudy colors. Winters palate consists of
gentle pastels. Those pastels are sublime when placed
on a white backdrop. Winters beauty does not scream
nor beg for our attention; its request is gentle. A winter
sunset is a like a woman without makeup, beautiful in
her own right.
Winter also gently introduces us to our own in-
signicance. As we travel during the day the cold will
challenge our comfort. As day descends into night we
will nd ourselves in a world that blatantly ignores our
comfort. The ever present cold is constantly ready to
sap our morale. There are no bugs in the winter, but
the cold is far more omnipresent. With the cold creep-
ing into our bones and impenetrable darkness gathered
around, our complete insignicance is demonstrated
clearly. However, this feeling of insignicance is a gift
of the highest magnitude. Humility is granted when we
accept our own lack of importance.
Gaskin Lake, photo courtesy Marco Gallo.
Above: Stuart River, below: Abinodji Lake, photos courtesy Bear Paulsen.
Winter also gently introduces us to our own
insignicance. As we travel during the day the cold
will challenge our comfort... The ever present cold
is constantly ready to sap our morale....
4 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org
The abyss of the star encrusted night sky has a
erce beauty like no other. Celestial innity magnies
our sense of insignicance. The starry blackness above
bestows humility and inspires a sacred feeling of awe.
Confronted by the icy innity, we accept our insigni-
cance and feel frightened reverence. Paul Gruchow, the
late Minnesota writer, touches on this glorious fear in
his book The Necessity of Empty Places: The word fear
once had two meanings. It meant the emotion one feels
in the face of danger, but it also signied reverential
awe, as in the phrase the fear of God. Combine the
isolation, silence and cold of a winter night deep in the
wilderness with innite stars, groaning lake ice and au-
rora borealis dancing in the sky, and you will feel rever-
ential awe.
Why would anyone winter camp? You should head
out in the winter if youve complained about how busy
the wilderness is during the summer months. In winter
there is no competition for campsites. You will nd the
isolation that all warm weather visitors seek. The isola-
tion will challenge you. The cold will challenge you as
well. Regard these challenges as the gifts they are. Your
admission to the fraternity of winter campers will be
the stuff of endless tales. Youll enjoy the camaraderie
of close friends gathered around a campre surround-
ed by the silent, black isolation of a winter night. You
may even have the pleasure of listening to the eerie mu-
sic of the lakes. Regardless, the vast black star studded
sky will cause you to question your own importance.
And, that is a good thing.
Editors Note:
Bear Paulsen is at home in the wilderness canoeing and
winter camping, two activities that allow him to take ex-
tended trips to remote places. He loves to explore north-
ern Minnesota, northwestern Ontario, and Manitoba
and has winter camped in WI, UT, MT, ID, MI, and the
Yukon as well. With more than 365 days winter camping,
his longest solo journey was 22 days crossing the BWCAW.
When hes not in the wilderness youll nd him working
as General Manager at Northstar Canoes.
Allen Lake, photo courtesy Dan Cooke.
wildernessnews.org WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 5
Gaskin Lake, photo courtesy Aaron Hushagen.
6 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org 6 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org
ON GOING OUTSIDE IN THE TIMELY ARRIVAL OF SPRING
An essay by Siri Linquist
Fair warning: this is a call to arms; within a short address to the love I have for canoe trips.
This is written in postscript to the 12 years I spent with Camp Widjiwagan, the loveliest of places in
the summer hours. The blue sky, the sound of the wind in the pines and aspen, the natural roughness
of the landscape, are so etched in as a clear picture today, but are a blur of the many years together in
my memory.
Spring is here, and some days there is a hint of summer on the air. Baseball is beginning, and white
calves are starting to see the light of day. They say March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb, but it
really only behaved appropriately animalistic in the analogy. So in my desperation, my thoughts turn the
bend of the year towards summer.
Summer has always meant one thing to me: Trail. For the past 12 years, from ages 12 to 24, I have
tripped and led trips at Camp Widjiwagan, leading trips from the Boundary Waters to the Northern Ter-
ritories. But before you go thinking Im something that Im not. I have to admit I am not the most likely
candidate to write this article. I like indoor activities. If its cold, I like a warm car. I am not your typical
intense, the woods-are-the-only-place-for-me trail guide. I love many things that are the very antithesis
of being out-of-outdoors. That is why I abhor the terms inside or outside people. That labels us as one
or the other and it is totally acceptable to like both environments. However, my inclinations make me the
perfect person to address you.
I am a true advocate for trail. I know how it affected my own development, and those I have led.
Everyone can gain essentials to being an individual on trail that you carry with you: condence, indepen-
dence, and social cohesiveness. You learn to be satised with less, push yourself more, and forgive yourself
your shortcomings.
That is why I tell everyone to just get out there. There is no doubt there are things to overcome about
going on trail. You may feel discomfort or hunger more keenly than you are typically acquainted with. But
there is a sweet kind of balance in it. I have seen sunny days and crappy, crappy weather. Sometimes the
sun warms your skin, and then is washed out by hard rain. I felt really hungry. I have laughed in absurdity
that is truly unrestrained. I have felt peace. I have fallen asleep to loons, and paddled by a wolverine hunt
on the shore. I have been leg deep in mud, and had the best and the most satisfying swims of my life. In
those eeting trips you really learn to feel strongly. You didnt feel dull or numb, you felt relaxed with an
energy that clings around you afterwards, pushing you to do other things outside your natural tendencies.
It may not feel easy or natural. It is way too easy to get caught up in the things that occupy us in our
daily lives, I can commiserate with that. That is the root of my un-ease in the lack of interest that many
people feel towards tripping and our environment. We need to do things that lie outside ourselves, and get
over discomfort. Once we get over that, you learn you can be you anywhere, and removes some seeds of
doubt that are so deeply rooted in much of what we do. Do I dare? Should I? You will feel less concerned
about how you should wear your hair and what to eat and far more willing to partake in chances to be
adventurous. Be more, feel more. That is why, in these summer months, I urge you to join me in my own
pursuit, as we nd a day, a weekend or more, to nd ways to be wild. It wont be easy.
A trip is a short blip, you cant always know how smoothly it will go, but you do know it ends. The
measurement of our life span is a similarly intangible thing that passes, but it is not an unnatural thing to
come to an end. It is just as important to mark it, and gain some good stories. You will have those.
Be off!
wildernessnews.org WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 7
When I was a kid, paddling the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area Wilderness with my family, I didnt
realize that the nal word in its name had only
been added in 1978the same year I was born.
Nor did I realize that the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness Act of 1978 was preceded by the
Wilderness Act of 1964, which created a National
Preservation System and a legal denition of
wilderness:
A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where
man and his own works dominate the landscape,
is hereby recognized as an area where the earth
and its community of life are untrammeled by
man, where man himself is a visitor who does not
remain.
I simply knew that in the Boundary Waters, we
traveled by canoe, under the power of our own muscles.
We slept in tents and cooked over res, and we packed
out what we carried in, including garbage. When we
paddled away from campsites, I loved the way that I
could look back and see no sign of our stay.
Its not surprising, perhaps, that a young girl was
ignorant of the law. A paddle dipping into a lake, n-
gers grazing its cool surface, seems very far away from
the halls of Congress. But on the 50th anniversary of
the Wilderness Act, it seems important to understand
its signicance. The Act required eight years of debate
and more than 60 drafts before President Lyndon B.
Johnson signed it into law on September 3rd. It left
some things in question. In the Boundary Waters, for
example, motorboats and snowmobiles were allowed
in areas where motorized use had been established,
leaving room for great public debates. But the 1964 Act
also laid the groundwork for the preservation of a re-
gion that I took for granted as a kid.
So I called Kris Reichenbach, Public Affairs Ofcer
for the Superior National Forest. I wanted to talk to
someone who has spent time explaining the Act to
the public, had experience with an agency charged
with enforcing the Act. I wanted to see whether our
understanding of wilderness has changed as we face
new factors like climate change and invasive species.
Reichenbach took me back to the beginning, the
Act itself, reminding me that there is a reason people
call the denition of wilderness poetic. Its an eloquent
act. Its not full of bureaucratic words as much as some
other national legislation, Reichenbach said. It ties
back to the passion. The people that were championing
and writing the laws were touched [by wilderness] in
such a way that they wrote this law differently.
That didnt mean, of course, that it was without
interpretation. Land use managers had to determine
what the use of words like untrammeled meant, and
how to balance that with the impacts of visitors. They
had to determine (and still do) the roles of recreational
use, commercial use, and research. Agencies have to
balance the preservation of wilderness character with a
love from visitors so great there can be risk of loving a
place to death.
In places like the Boundary Waters, Reichenbach told
me, that means helping people understand what it means
to prohibit mechanical devices or the principles of Leave
No Trace. But its also about helping us understand that
our very presence impacts the wilderness, in ways that are
greater than packing out whatever we pack in.
There is, for example, the advance of cell phones
and the idea that safety is a phone a call away. While
emergencies will happen, a rescue itself can be intrusive,
impacting that natural landscape and other visitors. If
were careless or unprepared, our rescue can detract
for other visitors wilderness experience. Or take the
spread of nonnative and invasive species. Simply by
entering the wilderness, we have the power to spread
them further.
There are very small areas scattered in wilderness
where research has identied the highest risk [of nonnative
and invasive species]. Its usually areas where people are
moving in. Visitors can make a big difference by cleaning
equipment and making sure their boots are clean before
moving into wilderness, Reichenach told me.
This summer, the Forest Service will go so far as
to engage the public in identifying infestations within
the wilderness area. New identication books will help
visitors identify nonnative and invasive species, and a
Reecting on the Wilderness Act
By Alissa Johnson
8 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org
postcard in the back of the book will make it easy for
them to alert the Forest Service to their locations.
We do monitoring, Reichenbach said, but in
one million acresthree million in the whole Superior
National Forestwe cant see everything. Getting tips
about infestations we didnt know about may allow us
to get in there early.
Listening to Reichenbach, it occurred to me that the
relationship between wilderness visitors and wilderness
managers is changing. Protecting a wilderness area
is no longer as simple as checking things at the
doormechanical devices, say, or motors. Its about
managing invasive species that can spread undetected,
or understanding what climate change might mean
for the region. We are all wilderness managers now,
in ways that the legislators behind the 1964 Act
never imagined.
When we enter wilderness, we can choose to see
that reality or not. We can pack trash out or leave it
behind. We can clean our boats for invasive species or
move them into the wilderness without care. We can
keep an eye out for invasive species or forget to send
a postcard to the Forest Service. But when we choose
to be responsible, to act in favor of wilderness, our
actions themselves become the living denition of
wilderness. We keep the vision behind the Wilderness
Act alive. And in that way, it turns out that there is
a direct connection between the legal denition of
wilderness and dipping your paddle into the cool
waters of a BWCAW lakewhether I knew it as a child
or not.
From BWCA to BWCAW
When the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, it
left exceptions for established motorized use in the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Debates over the use
of motorboats, snowmobiles and other land uses
continued (and in some cases still do). The Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978 sought to
address many of those issues and ofcially named the
area the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Following are some of the key dates leading up to its
passage, taken from www.queticosuperior.org:
1964 Congress passes Wilderness Act after eight
years of debate. BWCA is ofcially included
in National Wilderness Preservation System.
The Act prohibited the use of motorboats
and snowmobiles within wilderness areas,
with exceptions for areas where use was well
established with the BWCA.
1965 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture issues 13 direc-
tives dealing with BWCA, adding to no-cut
zone, zoning for motorboats, establishing
visitor registration and more.
1971 Ontario announces moratorium on logging in
Quetico Provincial Park.
1972 President Nixon issues Executive Order pro-
hibiting use of snowmobiles and recreational
vehicles in all national wilderness areas.
1975 217,000 acre Voyageurs National Park estab-
lished. Secretary of Agriculture imposes off-
road vehicle ban in the BWCA.
1978 On October 21st President Carter signs the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act
into law. It ends logging, reduces motorboat
lakes, phases out snowmobiling, restricts
mining, and expands BWCA by 68,000 acres.
Name ofcially becomes Boundary Waters
Canoe Area Wilderness.
Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the
Wilderness Act with Wilderness News
Do you have a favorite photo from the Boundary Wa-
ters Canoe Area Wilderness? Share it with Wilderness
News, and well post it on our Facebook page. Email
it to editor@queticosuperior.org or post it to
www.facebook.com/WildernessNews. Be sure to
include where it was taken and why the moment was
meaningful. Well select a few to include in the fall
print edition of Wilderness News.
Alissa Alissa
wildernessnews.org WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 9
When I have encountered other adults while trav-
eling through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilderness I have sometimes asked them, Is this
your rst trip to the BWCA? Their answers are
often the same. Oh no, I rst came here many
years ago as a childI was a camper. With that
disclosure a sparkle brightens their eyes. They
might go on and talk about a Y camp, scout
camp, church camp or a school group, but there is
always a recollection of a special moment when
they caught the wilderness bug.
The adolescent canoe camp adventure inspires
an appreciation for wilderness and a joy for traveling
by canoe, and camping out under pine shaded forests
and star-studded skies, all the while uninhibited by the
trappings of modern civilization. Even more, the chal-
lenges of wilderness travel infuse their souls with the
values of courage and perseverance. As sticky as bal-
sam sap on their ngers those early formative experi-
ences pull them back again and again. Ten, twenty,
thirty, forty and fty years later.
Wilderness Canoe Base on Seagull Lake is one such
formative canoe camp program with a long, storied,
and challenging history. Like many great accomplish-
ments, this camp began as a simple idea by a group
of courageous newly ordained Lutheran ministers
who believed that institutionalized, troubled, and
at-risk youth from urban Minneapolis could experi-
ence a spiritual awakening and turn their lives around
by paddling the wilds of northern Minnesota under
trained, capable, Christian leadership.
Supported and encouraged by their Luther Semi-
nary mentors, their parents, volunteers, local land
owners and the trustees of the Plymouth Christian
Youth Center (PCYC), The Wilderness Canoe Base was
hatched in the early 1950s and a rustic camp on Seagull
Lake was built. On June 18, 1957 a group of boys from
the Juvenile Correctional Facility in Redwing, Minne-
sota were the rst of many to benet from the camps
wilderness canoe trips that commenced and ended at
the base.
Through diligence, dreams and drudgery the
camp quickly grew. Land was acquired, training pro-
tocols were established and traditions emerged. The
Wilderness
Canoe Base
by Rob Kesselring
10 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org
camp earned a stellar reputation as being a pioneer
in no trace camping practices. It partnered with the
Forest Service to acquire several log cabins that need-
ed to be moved off BWCAW lands. In all, 16 cabins
were bought. One of these structures was the Pinecliff
Lodge. Built by a crew of skilled Finnish craftsmen in
the 1930s. This 80-foot long structure was considered
the crown jewel of historic BWCA buildings. All of
the log buildings were meticulously disassembled and
moved to the camp across frozen lakes, over portages,
and sometimes at temperatures colder than 30 below
zero. A major mishap occurred when a truck, pulling
the longest logs from Pinecliff Lodge, went through
the ice! Only the buoyant logs kept the truck and driv-
er from going to the bottom of the lake. The camp
enlisted volunteers far and wide for an arduous res-
cue. To the disbelief of many, the truck and every log
was recovered and pulled to the Wilderness Canoe
Bases Fishhook island site. Each log was stripped of
its original nish with a drawknife (drudgery) and the
15 cabins and lodge were reassembled. Staff, campers
and volunteers all pitched in. Pinecliff Lodge was reas-
sembled to all its grandeur during the summer of 1959.
Unfortunately, before it came into service, Pinecliff
burned to the ground. Undaunted, a new lodge, Pine-
cliff 2, was built on the ashes. Whenever faced with
adversity, the staff and supporters of Wilderness Canoe
Base responded with undiminished vigor and faith.
PCYC continued to operate the camp until 2002.
Always on a shoestring budget, but always putting
kids and faith rst. Over 40,000 youngsters have bene-
tted from the camp. Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible
Camp, Inc. of Amery, Wisconsin agreed to manage the
camps ministry and programming in 2002 and contin-
ues to do so to this day, but not without challenges.
In May of 2007, the infamous Ham Lake wild re
burned 75,000 acres of forest on both sides of the Gun-
int Trail. Almost one third of the 138 structures de-
stroyed by this massive burn were part of Wilderness
Canoe Base. Of the camps 60 structures 40 were con-
sumed by ames, including all but three of the historic
buildings acquired and moved to the camp in the late
1950s. Within a year the camp raised over $300,000 to
rebuild. This response to adversity demonstrated to the
campers, once again, that perseverance can overcome
any obstacle. Just as a calm lake mirrors the visage of a
All photos courtesy of Wilderness Canoe Base.
wildernessnews.org WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 11
All photos courtesy of Wilderness Canoe Base.
12 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org
paddler, the stalwart and resilient history of this camp
reects back into the character of those brave camp-
ers who accept the challenge and the promise of the
paddle and the gospel.
The camp currently offers seven-day wilderness
canoe trips and programs that blend canoe trips with
service learning. These trips are for youth that have
completed at least sixth grade. There are also hiking
trips, family trips and structured work-service experi-
ences. An average of 700 campers attend programs ev-
ery summer. During the shoulder and winter seasons,
the camp is available for adult retreats and seminars.
Expenses incurred leading youth on wilderness canoe
trips continues to rise. The Wilderness Canoe Base has
a half-century policy to serve every youth who wishes
to attend camp and uses donations to make Camper-
ships available for those with the greatest need.
There is no better guarantee that the special pro-
tections of the Quetico-Superior will be maintained
and even enhanced than by the introducing the joys
of canoe camping to the youth of America. Environ-
mental causes vying for the attention and support
from citizenry will only increase in the decades ahead.
What causes will stand out? None will have more pop
than commitments forged by campres. Youth camps
on the borders of the Boundary Waters Wilderness and
Quetico Parks create lifelong devotion to wilderness
camping, kindled by childhood memories. The Wilder-
ness Canoe Base on Seagull Lake is one of the nest.
For more information:
http://campwapo.org/camp/wilderness
One Step at a Time
by Kate Kincade
This is a lot steeper than I had imagined, I
thought to myself, staring up at the rocky hill
in front of me. After a glance towards the rest
of my group, who were oating in the canoes
beside me, it was clear that they were all as
nervous as I was.
It was our fourth day on trail, and we stood
at the landing of the Paulson Lake Portage.
Despite our days of practice, I found myself
feeling unprepared for the treacherous climb
ahead. As a clumsy 13-year-old, it seemed as
though I could hardly walk in a straight line
without tripping over my own feet, let alone
climb a hill with a canoe on my back.
Pushing the doubt to the back of my mind, I
started towards the bottom of the portage.
One step at a time, I thought. With a wave of
determination, our group pushed forward. We
all made it to the top of the hill unscathed.
Standing at the top of the portage, we could
see Paulson Lake behind us, and ahead was
Seagull Lake, the location of our home camp,
Wilderness Canoe Base.
Where I see God in the wilderness is not neces-
sarily in the rigor of portaging, but in the quiet
that follows. There is something to be said
about the peace found in silent paddles, glassy
lakes and fearless dragonies that zip quietly
across the surface of the water. This is what I
have learned in my ve years as a camper and
swamper at Wilderness Canoe Base.
Canoeing and wilderness will always be a part
of my life and I plan on returning to the Bound-
ary Waters for many years to come.
Kate Kincaid (in front) with campers from Wilderness Canoe Base.
wildernessnews.org WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 13
Jake Richie
Board member since 2011
Please tell us what your involvement with the Quetico
Superior Foundation means to you.
It is a privilege to work with a passionate group of
individuals who care so much about preserving the
Quetico-Superior Region. It is an extremely rewarding
feeling to be involved in helping that process, and I take
great pride in knowing that I am doing my part to help
protect this area for generations to come.
What other ways have you been active in the Quetico-Superior Region?
I spend time with family each summer on the North Shore of Lake Superior. I have been lucky enough to
grow up with a cabin on the lake so I was exposed to the beauty of the region at a very early age. Whenever
possible, I paddle with fellow board member John Case in the Quetico Provincial Park in search of walleye. If
you read his prole from the Summer 2013 edition of the Wilderness News, I am one of the many teenagers
he introduced to QPP and I am hooked!
What is the most pressing issue you see in the region today?
I think educating the public on the region itself is the most pressing issue. I think many people do not know
the extent of what it has to offer. There are National forests and hiking trails, camp grounds, youth camps,
resorts, and outtters that are available throughout the region to help anyone enjoy the area.
There are also many threats to the region like the Sulde Mining activity in northern Minnesota. Issues like
this need to be communicated to the public so they are informed on how such activity can affect the area for
decades to come.
Whats one of your favorite memories from the Quetico-Superior Region?
I nd every trip to the region memorable - from the people in your party, to the weather you experience, the
time of year, or the area that you travel. My favorite memories are simply spending quality time with friends
and family away from the distractions of daily life, and I nd no better place to do that than in the wilderness.
I also met my wife on a canoe trip to Quetico Provincial Park so you never know what you may nd in the
great outdoors!! My wife and I look forward to sharing experiences with our son in the years ahead as well.
Whats your favorite spot or way to see the Quetico-Superior Region?
I think my favorite way to see the region is in a canoe. Paddling along the water gives you a unique perspec-
tive on the scenery and wildlife. I am biased towards Quetico Provincial Park, but anywhere you can get out
and experience nature is a good place to be.
QUETI CO SUPERI OR FOUNDATI ON
BOARD MEMBER PROFI LE
14 WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 wildernessnews.org
SUPPORTERS
The Quetico Superior Foundation thanks our supporters:
Would you like to help support Wilderness News?
You can support objective coverage of news and issues in the Quetico-Superior region. Consider a donation to cover
the printing and mailing costs of your Wilderness News subscription or make a general donation to the Quetico
Superior Foundation to support news coverage, research and reporting, and our granting efforts. Simply use the form
and envelope enclosed. Other easy ways to give: Call 612-340-2868. Make a one-time or a monthly contribution at
www.queticosuperior.org Thank You!
Gary J. Anderson
John Anthony
Jack Abrahamson
Charles Backes
Carolyn Baird
Robin Baker
Diane and James Barnes
Mary Barstad
Mark Bauer
Donald Beck
Bruce and Mary Berend
Frank Berg Jr.
Robert Benjamin
Margaret Birse
Sandra Lee Branzovsky
Howard Broll
Marilyn Bryant
Mark Butala
Joseph and Lois Cancellare
Bruce Carlson
Leonard Casanova
Michael Chafn
Paul Choiniere
James Christensen
Norma and Larry
Christanson
Margaret Cleveland
Charles and Nancy Cornwell
Ann and Dodd Cosgrove
Ellie Crosby
Steward and Leslie Crosby
John Curran
Susan Dale
Donald Dahlin
Carol Daniels
Brian Danielson
Richard Dendinger
Dennis Desenberg
James and Janice Ditsworth
Peter Dohr
Andrew Duckworth
Jean Dudgeon
Robert Dunn
David Eaton
Sandra and Tim Eaton
James and Jill Eisele
Craig Ellestad
Nancy Ellia
M. Eugene Engle
William Englund
Karen Engman
John Erickson
Richard Feist
Joanne Fieldseth
Stephen Filia
John Fliehler
Jon and Carol Farchmin
Ken Fortenberry
Mark Gamm
Andrew and Georgia Fruth
Cliff and Pat Gastineau
William Gedemer
Glenn Gilyard
Betty Lou Gordon
Janet Green
David Greenlee
Richard and Patricia Grupp
Paul Gusted
Jean Gutschenritter
Bruce Hanson
Roger Harmon
Dave Hackett
Mark Haarman
Mel Harrington
Robin Hayes
Roger Henkemeyer
David Henning
Randy Hermanson
Ralph Heuchele
Dean Hill
Edwin Hill
Harold and Ardis Hines
John Hoeft
Larry Hollern
William Homrig
George Huber
Tom and Suzanne Inman
Harold Iverson
Tom and Marilynn Jenkin
Kristine Johnson
Ted and Rita Johnson
Vance Johnson
Stephen Jonas
George Joyce
Martin and ester Kellogg
Charles A. Kelly
David Klett
Charles Richard Knudsen
Gerald Kritzeck
John and Jan Kronholm
Ellis Laitala
Thomas Lanman
Jim Larson
Loren Larson
Robert Larson
Ronald Larson
Mark LeRoux
Dennis Litn
Stephen Locher
Perry J. Mackin
Linnea Matson and James
Nelson
Cletus and Ellen Magsamen
Michael Majerle
Willaim and Susan Majewski
Clarence Malick
Mary Alice and James
Mayerle
Helen Marsh
Angela Medina
In Memory of Walter
Tomascak
John McQuaid
Christine McVay
Robert Minish
Hans Mocker
Edward Moersfelder
Kenneth Molenaar
Mark Molitor
Lawrence V. Morgan, Jr.
Constance Nelson
Don Neubauer
Charles Norseng
Frederic Nordeen
Hugh and Mary Parker
Doris Patton
Frank Pendle
Rose Pendle
Joan Peters
David and Jane Piepgras
Wayne Potratz
Thomas and Nora Rath
Daniel Ratke
David and Jill Reese
Martin Reeck
Roger Ritzman
Jeffrey and Sharon Rome
Robert Roppe
Robert Rosene
Marianne Rother
Gordon Rouse
John Rud
Evelyn and Phil Ruggiero
Harland and Faye Samson
James and Rita Sanner
Darwin Sapp
Thomas Scharber
Harry Schlieff
Neill Schurter
Lawrence Schwanke
Chris Seybald
B. Jessica Shaten
Joyce Semankovich
Glen Shrley
John and Maxine Sinclair
Steven M. Skraba
Eleanor Smith
Helen Smith
Merle Smith
John Stahl
Andrew Steiner
Thomas Stevens
Al Stromberg
David Sucher
John Swanson
Janette Sweasy
Duane Swenson
Renee Tasaka
Diane Tessari
Edward Thompson
Maressia Tuele
Anne Uehling
Tom and Linda Veblen
Hugh A.Vickers
Thomas Vollbrecht
T.O. Vollen
William Vogt
Tom and Jo Ann Vouk
M. Kristine Warhol
John Wauer
Lawrence Whalen
W. Richard White
Boak Wiesner
Michael Woolsey
Catherine Yamoor
John Yoder
Randy Young
Minneapolis Foundation:
Andrews-Hunt Fund
Frederic and Eleanor Winston
Charitable Annuity Trust
Wyman Family Charitable
Foundation
wildernessnews.org WI LDERNESS NEWS SPRI NG 2014 15
Whats New Online:
Isle Royale Responds to
Dwindling Wolf Population
Details Emerge About Locations
of Twin Metals Mine Facilities
Risk Management Consultant
Questions PolyMet
Subscribe for regular updates
by email or RSS
www.wildernessnews.org
Find Us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/
WildernessNews
Jordan Lake Narrows, photo courtesy Bear Paulsen.
Yes, I support The Quetico Superior Foundation
Your financial contribution will support the full range of QSF services and programs
Wilderness News Support objective coverage of news and issues in the Quetico-Superior region. Consider
a $25 donation to cover the publishing and mailing costs of your Wilderness News subscription, or make a
general donation to the Quetico Superior Foundation to support the expanded online news coverage,
research and reporting at www.wildernessnews.org
Initiatives and Grants A general donation to the Quetico Superior Foundation will support QSF initiatives
and granting programs. Past recipients include Wilderness Inquiry, The Heart of the Continent Partnership,
The Trust for Public Land, Friends of the Boundary Water Wilderness, the Sigurd Olson Lecture Series and
the Ernest Oberholtzer Foundation.
Other easy ways to give: Call 612-492-6130. Make a one-time or a monthly contribution at
www.queticosuperior.org Thank You!
$500 $250 $100 $50 $25 Other __________
Method of Payment Amount $ _________________
Check/money order payable to The Quetico Superior Foundation
Visa MasterCard Card Number ________________________________________
Signature Expiration Date 3 digit Security Code (on back of card)
Name
Address
City State Zip+4
Phone email
Employer (for matching gift requests)
Legacy Gifts
Please contact me about how I can make a legacy gift to the Quetico Superior Foundation.
Make your annual tax-deductible contribution
today. Thank You!
Please mail this form and donation to:
The Quetico Superior Foundation
696 Sumner Street St. Paul, MN 55116
We rely on loyal readers like you to help us protect the wilderness
character of Minnesota and Canadas canoe country. Contributions
support 100 percent of publishing costs for Wilderness News and help
us expand our granting program.